Cold Case Files returns!
 

Anyone else as delighted about this as I am? I haven't watched the first new episode yet, but a brief search leads me to believe Bill Kurtis is still the narrator and producer, which is great. My understanding was that the reason it was cancelled about 10 years ago was because of a dispute between Kurtis and A&E, so I figured it was done for for good.

Anyway, great to have it and Kurtis back, as it's one of the best true crime series of all. No reenactments (which I hate), no nonsense, just the facts, though some of the old segments were a smidge protracted because of a dearth of backing material.
One of the best old episodes was the one they did on the Original Night Stalker, sometime around 2002.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

Yawn.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

Incorrect Danny Glover is the new narrator.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

Right, thanks for the insightful contribution.
Ok, thanks for clearing that up. He should do a fine job. Kurtis was good, but not as iconic and irreplaceable a presence as, say, Robert Stack on Unsolved Mysteries.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

I actually watched the first episode tonight. I don't think I ever watched Cold Case files regularly in its original run.

Anyways, I thought the case they profiled was interesting. Basically it was about a 12 year old girl who was kidnapped, raped and murdered. It took about 10 years before they finally solved it.

They did use recreations, but they were fuzzy silhouettes of the actors. Glover's narration was light. 80% of the episode was interviews and the silhouettes.

Not as compelling as Unsolved Mysteries IMO, but I'll check out future weeks. Bill Kurtis' name was not in the end credits, so it doesn't look like he had any involvement.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

No, it seems Kurtis is not involved in any way. I agree that the case was compelling, but I don't like the new production at all. The old version was clinical, stylistically minimalist, heavily narrated, and full of detail. The new version is, as you said, rife with these stylized recreations and interviews, and sparsely narrated. Bah! I'll probably continue watching, but I'm very disappointed.
Unsolved Mysteries had reenactments, but they were so well produced that they added to the show rather than detracting from it.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

Watching the premiere and not a fan of Glover as the narrator. It's difficult to understand him at times (I still like him as an actor). At least not too much narration though.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

I tried to watch the first show but it was too boring.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

I thought the first episode was really depressing, considering the fact that the mom forgot to pick up her kid from the Girl Scouts event.

I would blame myself for the rest of my life if I forgot.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

It is borderline boring in the fashion in which it is presented, I agree. What a lost opportunity to revive a quality show. Instead we get this diluted simulacrum.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

I'm not sure when the changed happened, but Bill Kurtis is back as the narrator for the Officer Down episode (June 1st). I skipped a lot of the episodes this season.

I respect you Danny Glover, but you're not a good narrator.

Re: Cold Case Files returns!
 

^I have not caught that episode yet. The episodes seem to be trickling out, at least up here.
I agree about Glover being a poor narrator. Too vocally indistinct. I have taken to the show a bit more, but the fact that 95% of the production is comprised of slow-motion dramatizations (well-filmed though they are) still leaves me irritated. It's an affected presentation that is totally at odds with the straightforward documentary style of the old show.